anyone move from Utah to Dallas (Houston, Plano: real estate, apartments, insurance)

[whatamess]

I live in West Valley City Utah. We are planning on selling our house and moving to Dallas. I will pay cash for the home and that way i will not have a house payment. I am worried about getting work down there. My husband drives a side load garbage truck and he can drive a front load, and I worked for an insurance company for 2 years paying Medicare suplement claims. We have lived in Utah all our lives. My dad was born in Texas. I have been to Dallas but not long enough to really know what it is like. I know that it will be a good thing not having a house payment, but that will do us no good if we can't get work. I also have another problem I have 5 yes 5 Dogs and I can't part with them. I need to know if there are places you can buy that will let you have that many dogs. Many places here will only let you have 2 dogs. I also would like to be close to medical care because I am only 36 and 1 year out from stage 3 breast cancer so that is important.

[cdelena]

Originally Posted by whatamess

...
I will pay cash for the home and that way i will not have a house payment.
...

Do keep in mind that real estate taxes, HO insurance, and utilities will cost you more in Texas.

Plan for taxes of at least 2.4% of appraised value annually, insurance about .0065 * appraised value, and electricity rates 40% higher.

Even without a mortgage there is a real need for cash flow.

[dallasite]

We are originally from Utah, though we're moving to Dallas from Houston. From what we've seen in Dallas, it's a great place. I'm sure you'll love it. Sorry I can't answer any of your specific questions, but hopefully you'll find the place that will fit your needs. Good luck!

[Embraer]

With 5 dogs you can almost rule out most apartments. They have limits on the number, usually 1 or 2, and also on the size/weight of the dogs. Since you plan on buying a house that should not be a problem. You can have as many dogs as you want if the house is yours. How much were you looking to spend? I could give you some ideas of places to look that would fit your budget.

I'm not familiar with the specific jobs you mentioned, however I do know that there is always opportunities for most proffesions around here. Particularly in the insurance field. Try looking on dallasnews.com and going to the job center page. Monster.com is another place to search.

My cousin in law is from Idaho but spent most of his life in Utah before coming to Dallas. He currently works in foundation repair and makes a pretty good buck.

Other than that he doesn't mind it here. He does miss Utah's scenery and weather. He has stated that he would like to move to the northwest to get away from all this heat, and also for the beautiful scenery. But as long as you understand that we will not have nearly as nice surroundings as what you are probably used to then you should be ok. Also remember that while our temperatures will be exremly more hot, we also don't have nearly as cold weather. Can be either a good or bad thing depending on what you enjoy. Don't bother bringing your skis

As for hospitals there are many and they are spread out. You could live in Plano/Richardson and be near Medical Center of Plano which is a very nice hospital. Up north around Allen, Frisco, and McKinney there are also a number of good hospitals. North Dallas/Addison and West Plano have the Presbyterian Hospital of Plano nearby which is also nice and very large.

Other good hospitals would be Baylor Medical in downtown Dallas, Parkland, Trinity Medical Center in Carrolton, and Frisco Medical Center.

Needless to say no matter where you live you will be covered as far as medical care goes.